Test The Waters
by Krymsyn Vyxyn
Summary: Riza's loyalty as a soldier is tested when she discovers a certain man is more than what he seems to be. Will her love continue despite the repercussions, or will it crumble to dust when the curtain comes down?
1. Confrontation

**Test The Waters**

**Chapter 1: Confrontation**

Riza sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall behind her. 1:45. Even with hours left, she could hear the men jabbering about their weekend plans; which bars they would visit, which restaurants they would eat at, and a few hints of maybe stopping in at the strip club to ease the tension of the work week. She clenched her teeth at the latter. She knew she would probably never tag along with the guys anyways but still, it would be nice to be considered into the plans but because she herself was a woman, and a stern one at that, there was no way she was going to be figured into the equation of this weekend's events. She really needed to find a hobby and if she were being honest with herself, it was getting a bit pathetic that she regularly sat at her desk hoping for an invitation to go out with them.

"So what are your plans this weekend Hawkeye?" Riza had been so lost in thought she hadn't realized that Havoc was slouched against the side of her desk, his cigarette bobbing up and down in his mouth as he spoke.

"I suppose I don't have anything planned as of yet", she silently prayed her voice hadn't sounded half as desperate as she felt. To her surprise, and reluctantly to her dismay, it hadn't because Havoc merely shrugged before suggesting she be on call in case they needed a ride from the bar. She agreed then pushed him off her desk as she finished filing the last of her paperwork. It wasn't exactly the participation she had wished for, but it was better than nothing and she would most likely have some interesting stories to share with them come the following Monday.

After what seemed like an eternity 5:00 finally rolled around and everyone gathered their things up to leave. As usual, she was the last out the door as well as being the first one in. She pulled off her military jacket and hung it over her arm as she piled her paperwork into her free hand and headed out the door. Since the windows in the office had to remain closed, she had forgotten how nice mid-summer was in Amestris. It was the type of summer where the sun was just enough to keep your skin warm and the breeze was enough to keep your skin dry despite the temperature. Downtown always had its own smell; fresh bread, the flowers from the vendor that surprisingly wafted from 2 blocks away, and even a hint of car oil from a nearby mechanic shop…but now that summer had rolled around, the air was also filled with the scent of fresh cut grass. It was an odd smell to her, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. She was glad she had walked today instead of driving; she needed the exercise anyways and it gave her a chance to clear her head completely before she got home.

So there she was, lost in the beautiful chaos of the aroma of the air and the feeling on her skin, she almost hadn't noticed that creeping feeling of eyes on her. Now on full alert she snapped her head straight and all the euphoria she had been surrounded by dissipated. She scanned her surroundings of anything suspicious; she had always felt safe in this area of her neighborhood and it gave her an unsettling feeling in her stomach that trouble could lurk so close to her home. After studying the environment for several minutes, she failed to find anything out of the ordinary and decided she should retire to her upstairs apartment.

The steps felt as a mountain, each step took newfound strength and she hadn't realized how exhausted the week had made her. She fumbled the keys to her door and silently cursed as she dropped them at her feet. Heaving a sigh she slung her jacket onto her paperwork and bent down to scoop her keys up but before she could an unfamiliar hand snatched them away before she could even react.

"I believe you've dropped something…", a male voice said from above her.


	2. Mixed Feelings

**Test The Waters - Chapter 2: Mixed Feelings**

Riza's snapped her head up as she thrust her newly drawn gun into the man's face.

"Whoa, easy tiger", he laughed as he tried handing her the keys. "Do you always treat your gentlemen with such hostility?" Riza glared at him down the barrel of her gun, keeping the bead steadily fixed on his forehead.

"Drop them." Riza gestured towards the ground with her gun as she held his gaze. "Drop them and leave." His eyebrows furrowed as the confusion spread across his face. Hesistantly, he bent down and set the keys on the door mat and began backing up from her.

"My apologies, I was only trying to help", he shrugged as he started down the opposite hall and eventually disappearing around the corner. Releasing the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, Riza holstered her gun and bent down to get her keys.

After showering and getting settled down Riza flopped across her bed and closed her eyes. For a moment, all she did was relax and listen to the sound of the ceiling fan blades spin but slowly, her mind began to wander against her will. She recollected her encounter with the strange man from earlier. Who was he? And why hadn't she seen him before? She shut her eyes tighter as she tried to picture him in her mind. She remembered every detail about him; the way his shaggy chestnut hair swept across his forehead, his crooked grin as he laughed at her reaction to him, the way his green eyes pierced through her hazel ones...dear God he was handsome. She subconsciously smiled to herself and hugged her pillow as she allowed herself to fall asleep to the thought of him.

Riza awoke the next morning in a better mood than usual. For the first time in a long time she felt rested and rejuvenated; a feeling that seemed to be becoming increasingly rare since the office had started taking over the workload from the other sectors that had been falling behind. As she walked towards headquarters, she couldn't help but think of the mystery man. It wasn't like her to obsess over something as trivial as a man, but for some reason she couldn't escape from him as he followed her to work.

He didn't stop at the door either, but rather he pursued her at every turn she took. He accompanied her to the break room, where she copied nearly 500 documents before realizing she had forgot to put the original in the scanner. To the cafeteria, in which she had carelessly threw away her I.D badge in the midst of the rubbish on her plate. He even was so gentleman enough to assist her in the bathroom, where she not only dipped half her coat tail in the commode, but also dressed to match as her jacket sleeve fell into the already wet sink. This man was consuming her life; her inability to concentrate made for a very difficult day as she had made more mistakes in one day than she had in her entire military career. Her peers seemed to notice her obviously oblivious state and took full advantage of the situation rather than confronting it. She was thankful when the 5:00 retreat finally rang through the building and she clumsily gathered her things together and headed towards home.

Early evenings in Spring were always her favorite. The weather was never too hot nor too cold and the aroma of all the new flowers made every step to her apartment worth the walk. And, as of late, she appreciated the time to clear her head and have the moments to herself. But herself wasn't as exciting as Mr. Mystery and certainly wasn't as entertaining in her mind. She wasn't too sure about this new Riza that had seemingly popped up overnight. In a way it was refreshing and new to her, but on the other hand, the distractions were definitely becoming a problem that was not going to get better anytime soon.

Weeks went by as Riza grew accustomed to her fan girl fantasy and while she certainly hadn't forgotten Mr. Mystery, it had become easier to focus on her work and leave him at home where he belonged. _Where he belonged?_ She wasn't sure if she had meant it the way she had said it. It felt right to her but it also felt wrong, and she didn't know why. She pondered about it as she walked downtown to her favorite coffee shop. _Maybe he was married? Gay? Maybe I'm the one who wouldn't be ready for a relationship?_ _Maybe he's-_ she was cut short when the frenzy interrogation in her head caused her to crash into a man on the sidewalk. Brought from her thoughts and knocked to the ground, she groaned as she rubbed the hip that had collided with the pavement.

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, too embarrassed to look at the man she had just run into. She started to get up on her feet as a familiar hand extended out to help her up.

She froze wide-eyed as she immediately recognized the voice from above her.

"Are you always a damsel in distress Miss Hawkeye?"


	3. Reluctant Rendezvous

**Test The Waters - Chapter 3: Reluctant Rendezvous**

Riza stumbled backward as she scrambled to her feet as she glared at him more than she had intended to. She snapped at him as the mixture of embarrassment, fear, and hopeless humiliation brewed into some weird auto-bitch tincture.

"How do you know my name?"

He smiled his half cocked grin as he reached out towards her, opening his hand to reveal her military I.D.

"This would be yours, no?" He retracted his hand and flipped the I.D around to look at it. "Elizabeth Hawkeye, 5'2, 125 pounds, hazel eyes, blonde hair. I'd say it's either you or your beautiful twin." Riza felt her face flush with his last statement as she snatched the card out of his hand.

"Yeah, well, thanks." She had never been complimented on her looks before and it made her feel awkward that a stranger would be so bold towards her. Shoving the I.D in her jeans pocket she locked eyes with Mr. Mystery...and stared. Then stared some more. And maybe a little more after that. For a long time they maintained eye contact...an extremely uncomfortable long time. Hours. Days. She wanted to break the trance and walk away, but her body refused to cooperate with her mind. So there she stood against her will, involuntarily mesmerized by Mr. Mystery's gaze. He must have sensed it as well before clearing his throat and offering her his hand.

"I'm Seth by the way and you're Elizabeth?"

"Riza," she replied flatly as she took his hand. "No one has called me Elizabeth since my mother passed away." Seth frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets as he lowered his eyes to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." The pitiful look on his face made her feel guilty about the way she had said it. He hadn't known, how could he have? It wasn't as if her really knew her, and she hadn't corrected him when he had read her I.D. in the first place. Deep down she felt as if she should apologize, but it was difficult for her to find the words to do so. Instead, she turned around and started to head home. Before she got a few steps between them, she felt his hand around her arm.

"Wait, Riza. I'm sorry about all the misunderstanding. Let me walk you home." His eyes shown with genuine honesty which made it hard to refuse his offer, not that that was the only part of him that was difficult to resist. In the end, she agreed and allowed him to lead her back to her apartment.

So there they were, kicking pebbles off the sidewalk as they walked together in awkward unison. Even if home was only 3 blocks away, it would seem like forever before they got there. Seth cleared his throat as he broke the silence.

"So, tell me about yourself Riza Hawkeye". Her eyes veered off into the distance as she tried to think of anything remotely interesting about herself. She had never given much thought to how boring she really was, and his question served to remind her that she really should be getting out more than she was. Becca, her friend and former dorm mate, had always pressured her to go out with her, but at the time Catalina was well known for her promiscuity and that wasn't exactly how Riza wanted to be thought of. Still, a date here and there wouldn't have hurt and her ability to repel men would have been more of an exaggeration than the truth.

"I'm afraid I don't have much of a back story." She cracked a small smile as she noticed his ear to ear grin, and somehow it subconsciously pressured her to keep going. "I grew up with 2 older brothers in a small town called Valesha, it's about 6 hours east. I left when I was 17 to join the Amestrian military and give myself a better future. So, this has been home to me for the past 11 years." And that was it, her personal profile. Her "all about me" rolled up into 3 measly sentences. It was pathetic and she waited for his laughter to follow. To her surprise it didn't and instead, he seemed intrigued by her shallow introduction.

"Your brothers, are you close to them?"

"To an extent yes, I haven't seen them for a few months, but they call to check on me quite a bit. I guess you never really outgrow being the baby, especially when you're a little sister." She chuckled at the thought of them hovering over her like helicopter parents but the truth was she missed them. They were everything to her and all that she really had left in the world; leaving them behind hadn't been easy for any of them. "We kept together after our parents died and, I guess you could say they sort of raised me for a few years. When I left it really tore them up, but I know they wanted to see me be successful in life and there was nothing for me in Valesha." She remembered the day she had left like it was yesterday and while it hadn't mattered much to her back then, it definitely struck a different chord with her now. She had never seen her brother's cry before, not even at their parent's funerals. But, as she had said her goodbyes and drove off, she could see both of them crying in her rearview mirror. She shook her head, ridding herself of the depressing image and pushing on with their conversation.

"So what about you Seth Gretzkel, what's your story?" He laughed at her imitation of him and nudged her with his shoulder.

"Well, I was born and raised in Lebietchen. It's about oh, 3,000 miles that way." He gestured with his right hand way off into the distance. "My parents immigrated here when I was 3 and I don't remember much, but from what my father told me there was a pretty big conflict going down with our neighboring country." His eyes glazed over as he stared straight ahead, as if he was contemplating on how much of himself he was going to share with her. "Anyways, my parents ended up moving back after the conflict settled down but I decided to stay and continue working as a welder. I don't know, I like Amestris and it's more of my style than back home ever was."

"Hey, do you have a pen or a pencil...or even some eyeliner?" Riza laughed as she pointed to her eyes which were clearly void of any make up.

"I'm afraid I'm fresh out of eyeliner...but I do have a pen to write with like a normal person." He smirked as he took the pen from her and started scribbling on a small piece of paper.

"I know we literally just bumped into each other, but if you ever want to go out to eat sometime or need someone around just give me a call." He winked as he handed back her pen and his phone number. Then he was gone, yet she continued to stand there, a cascade of emotions overwhelming her. She eventually made her way into her apartment, setting the pen and piece of paper on the table by the door.

She would sort everything out tomorrow; for now, she just wanted to rest and recollect the event's from her night with Seth.


End file.
